Sure Thing
by Lexiphanicist
Summary: Yusuke has a dilemma. Kurama doesn't have an answer, per se, but it's nice to bounce your thoughts off someone, if nothing else. First fic; rated for language. Shoutout to Fandomsecrets.


Yusuke Urameshi, who by this point in his life considered himself fairly well-versed in coping with things odd and confusing, was flummoxed. As he watched the scene before him continue, he felt the nagging unease bubble steadily up inside of him, until at last he could no longer bite the words back down.

"It's not gonna work."

"Hm?" Kurama turned to a new page in his book, serenely disinterested.

"That! Them! There's no way in hell that's gonna work out."

"And you're quite sure of this?"

"Dammit, Kurama, you and I both know it. Just look at them."

And he did look up, though perhaps in a much less intent manner than his companion would have anticipated. Holding the open book to his chest (lightly, so as not to cruelly bend the spine), he observed the scene playing out before them on Genkai's substantial grounds for an appraising moment; then, seemingly satisfied with something, returned to his reading.

"I disagree, Yusuke. I have complete faith in Kuwabara's kite-making abilities."

"Kurama..."

"Of course, it's still a matter of catching a good updraft," Kurama continued almost cheerily, ignoring the edge to the former Spirit Detective's voice, "and obviously the whole concept is a bit new to Yukina, but--"

"--That's not what I--er, wait. So no kites in Demon World?" The words slipped out before he could stop himself, and inwardly he cursed Kurama a little for derailing his train of thought so effortlessly.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that. I would imagine the weather isn't generally forgiving enough for that sort of thing where she comes from, however. Ice maidens in large groups tend to generate blizzards, from what I've read."

"Huh. Sort of an automatic camouflage deal?" Yusuke mused, interlacing his fingers behind his head and leaning back against the dojo wall. He watched the two would-be kite-fliers quizzically, eyebrow raised.

_Flip._ Page turn. "Perhaps, though I believe it may serve a more unconscious comforting purpose as well. They certainly don't have as much need to blend in after isolating themselves from the outside world on their island."

"You know, I still really don't get that. If it's just a bunch of snowy chicks up there all alone, and they never come down, then how do they keep--"

"--Asexual reproduction, Yuusuke. Parthenogenesis, to be precise, as they don't require a male presence to pass on their genes. Incidentally, I think you'd do well to remember that Hiei's border patrol duties cover this general area as well these days."

Yusuke did, and diligently tried to wipe all thoughts remotely connected to words like "all-girl" and "pillow fight" and "topless" from his subconscious lest any roving overly-protective psychic swordsmen happen to peruse them. The new distraction reminded him of his thoughts before the old one.

"But see, that's just what I was sayin' before! It doesn't make any sense."

_Flip._ "I'm afraid I really don't follow, Yusuke."

"Man, shut up." He gestured emphatically at Kuwabara and Yukina, smaller in the distance now. The kite lifted a few inches, once, before sinking unimpressively back down to earth. "It's all friggin' test tube baby science-y clone stuff to her. How do we know she's even, y'know, _wired _the same way as human girls? And how's she supposed to have a clue what he's talking about when he blabs on and on about true love and destiny and all that crap when her kind doesn't even--"

"--Yukina is very much an oddity in comparison to the rest of her kind, I'll remind you. And as I seem to recall, it's not entirely unheard of for an Ice Maiden to carry out a more..._traditional_ relationship with an outsider. You and I have both seen the living proof of that."

Yusuke snorted and rocked forward to sit more upright, cross-legged. "Alright, fine, so she comes from a family of sexual deviants. Whatever. At least she and Hiei are all demon."

_Flip. _Somewhat pointed, this time. "Do you have some objection to human-demon familial ties, Yuusuke?"

"What? No! You know I don't! Hell, I wouldn't _be_ here if it weren't for that stuff, I guess. I'm just saying, this, right here, between them?" Again he pointed at the subjects of interest, now engaged in disentangling their kite from a nearby tree. Or at least Kuwabara was; Yukina seemed to be laughing too much to be of any real help. "It ain't gonna happen."

Kurama regarded his now wholly unappreciated book a touch regretfully, and though he still did not look up, his words took on a somewhat curious tone. "And why is that, Yusuke?"

"I... It's just--Look," Yusuke pressed, punctuating each point with an emphatic hand gesture and an aggravated increase in volume. "Even if she_ does _catch on to his whole crazy routine about sappy romance and all that crap..."

"--Mm-hm?"

"...And even if they _do_ find a way to make the--the _mechanics_ of everything work out..."

"--Mm-hm."

"It still doesn't matter because in the end he's just gonna d--"

And the front porch of Master Genkai's dojo was suddenly very quiet once again.

"..._Ah_," said Kurama, at last. Placing his book down next to him, he lightly interlaced his fingers across his stomach and for the first time gave his friend and teammate his full, devastatingly polite attention.

Said teammate, in turn, shrank back against the wall petulantly. "What? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yusuke," Kurama began, that damned tact infused in every word. "We're talking about more than just those two, aren't we?"

For a long moment, neither said anything as each studied the other. At last, Yusuke looked away, unable to maintain eye contact against all those centuries of trained impassivity. When he spoke, it was slow and deliberate, as though reluctantly prying every word from some heavily guarded corner of his thoughts.

"Raizen...Raizen lived for a long time. Like, really long. And normal humans...don't."

"No," Kurama agreed, propping his chin on his hand and idly observing the countryside before them. "They've rather limited life-spans, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, and how the hell am I supposed to know how much of _that _part of being human is still in me after getting the old man's hand-me-down genes dumped all over me? Christ, Kurama, I wanna stay _with _her, y'know, grow up and get old and yell at stupid neighborhood kids to get off our lawn with her, not just sit on my ass stayin' young while _she_--"

"--While she weakens and fades and keeps loving you as she always has every agonizing step of the way."

Now it was Yusuke's turn to study his companion. "Oh yeah. I guess you've thought about this more than I have."

"A great deal more, I'd wager."

Another brief silence. Gingerly, fully aware of the delicate territory in which he now tread, Yusuke pressed on:

"So...how do you deal with it?"

"I accept it, Yusuke. I accept it as much as I can, as much as any child or parent in this world can. In a way, mine isn't a wholly unique situation, really."

"I guess not. But still, it's different for us. We're supposed to stay together and all that garbage."

"And what if you were both human, or both demon, for that matter?" Kurama challenges, smiling faintly. "I'm afraid fate has many means of prematurely ending a relationship, Yusuke."

"Man, _fuck_ fate. I can protect her from stupid accidents, and you've got our back in case of chicken pox or whatever; there is nothing that could screw us over like that. But here I am, still scared shitless because _I don't even friggin' know_--"

"--_They_ know."

Yusuke stopped mid-rant, following the direction of Kurama's gaze to the original subjects of their discussion. Kuwabara was now midway through untangling a thoroughly discombobulated kite string and appeared to be telling Yukina a rather engaging story as she attempted to help him. Distracted, they kept getting in each others' way, fingers tangling further in the line as each alternately undid the other's progress. In Yusuke's private estimation, their kite had seen approximately three minutes of airtime and three hours of technical difficulty thus far that day.

He snorted dismissively. "You think so?"

"Perhaps not as acutely as you or I, but we both know they're not ignorant. Surely they realize on some level that their friendship can't last forever, regardless of what direction it may otherwise take. All they've left to do is enjoy the time they have while it lasts. Just like all of us, I suppose."

Yusuke considered this for a moment. "That sucks," he concluded.

"That's life," responded Kurama, reaching for his book and rising from his seat. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

"Huh? Where'ya headed?"

"Inside, to finish my book. You know," he added thoughtfully and looked back, pausing in the doorway, "demon literature isn't nearly as artful or extensive as the human sort. I suppose we all do our best work on a tighter schedule." And with that he retreated inside.

Puzzled and feeling a bit cheated as per usual after one of his advice sessions with the spirit fox, Yusuke sat and watched his closest friend fail at kite-flying with his impossible near-immortal maybe-girlfriend. Kuwabara, at the very least, had enthusiasm enough to keep even their most hopeless attempts entertaining for the both of them.

He would miss him, too, Yusuke realized.

"Ahhh, hell", he snarled, scrambling up before allowing himself to dwell on the subject any further. Genkai would kick his ass, if she knew he were moping around like this. And she'd be right to, he decided. Hopping the railing and taking the stairs in a single bound, he landed softly on the fresh Spring grass and wandered out to meet the two figures in the distance and mock their technique, hands shoved in his pockets. He realized he still had some cash in the left one from last night. Later on, he'd call Keiko and ask her out to a movie or something. Maybe she'd join him. Maybe she wouldn't.

And that was all right, really.


End file.
